In Santa's Claws
by Copycat
Summary: There's a Christmas party at the lab.


TITLE: In Santa's Claws  
AUTHOR: Lizzy (Copycat)  
RATING: T  
CLASSIFICATION: Nikki/Harry, Friendship, Romance  
SPOILERS: Through series 12, but nothing specific  
SUMMARY: There's a Christmas party at the lab.  
DISCLAIMER: The BBC owns everything you recognise. And probably some things you don't.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: The views expressed below about certain Christmas songs are solely the views of the characters expressing them and do not necessarily represent the views of the author.

I found some fluff in my stocking...

Roz, I rewrote the ending to make the story more digestible for the lactose-intolerant. It now has about 300% less cheese, if you can believe that.

* * *

Harry sighed and took another swig of his decidedly un-Christmassy Mexican beer, looking around the layout room. Underneath the massive amounts of decorations it was almost identical to the one he, Leo and Nikki usually spent their time in.

On a normal day the pathologists who worked here probably weren't that different from the three of them either. Except at least one of them was completely and ridiculously into the whole Christmas thing. The last time Harry had seen this many ornaments in one place, he had been in Harrod's buying a Christmas present for his mother.

He hadn't enjoyed that, either.

He was beginning to regret coming along to this party at all. Not only were all these people, most of whom he recognised but didn't know the names of, much more drunk than he was, and much more cheerful, none of them were Nikki.

And he had only gone because she had asked him to. He hadn't actually been invited and, as he had pointed out to her, he probably wouldn't be welcome.

She had laughed and told him he was being stupid. Of course the invitation included all three of them. Leo had agreed with Harry's interpretation, but, being older and wiser and much less emotionally involved, he had kept quiet and just decided not to attend.

Whereas Harry had felt compelled to go, not only because Nikki wanted him to, but also to keep an eye on her.

And James Lafferty.

Or, on James Lafferty's hands, mostly.

Because whatever Nikki might tell herself, or Harry, there was no denying the fact that James had shown up in _their_ office late on Wednesday to invite Nikki, and Nikki only, to his Christmas party.

He had been visibly annoyed when Harry and Leo had come out of the layout room and Nikki had told them, smiling, that he had come to invite them all to a party.

Harry had noticed, and he could tell that Leo had, too, that James had put his hand on Nikki's arm, asking her to definitely show up.

He hadn't asked anyone else to definitely do anything, but if he'd had the guts, he might've told them to bugger off. He had certainly looked like he _wanted_ to.

Which Harry had very decidedly _not_ done, even when Leo had thrown him a look and nodded his head towards his office for Harry to follow and leave Nikki to be flirted with in private.

Instead, Harry had ignored Leo rolling his eyes at him and sat down at his desk, watching Nikki and James with undisguised interest.

That hadn't fazed Nikki at all, of course, but James had made an excuse to get out of there pretty quickly.

Nikki had sat down across from him and asked enthusiastically, "You will come, won't you?"

Which he would, of course, because there was no way he was sitting at home all night, wondering if James Lafferty would manage to make it clear to Nikki that he would quite like to nail her to the floor under the mistletoe.

Or get her on her own in an empty office, probably, Harry thought gloomily, looking around the room again. There had been no sign of Nikki, or James, for the last half hour at least.

Why was it that people seemed to think that Christmas parties were an excuse to just go crazy and sleep with their colleagues, anyway?

And why were there so many offices in this building? It would be impossible for him to just casually wander into the one Nikki and James were probably in right now, doing God knows what, and interrupt them.

And would he really want to? Wouldn't it be better to just remain ignorant and pretend to himself that it had never happened?

Although he suspected that might be difficult, because James hadn't seemed like all he wanted was a bit of fun at the Christmas party. That had just been an excuse to finally talk to Nikki about something other than rotting corpses and mitochondrial DNA.

Which was what bothered Harry.

Not that James wanted to _talk_ to Nikki, he wasn't that unreasonable, but that he wanted more than just a bit of fun.

Because, really, from a completely unbiased perspective, James Lafferty was a nice guy. He was good at his job, kind to old ladies and children (or so Harry had heard recently, when he passed gossiping women in hallways), and the argument might even be made that he was in fact rather handsome.

Not that Harry was even remotely unbiased.

"It looks great, doesn't it?" Nikki asked suddenly from behind him. He turned to see her looking around the room with eyes that sparkled with excitement as she took in the festive scene.

"Yeah," Harry agreed unenthusiastically.

She grinned, shaking her head at him and his obvious lack of Christmas cheer. "You should drink some eggnog. It'll look a lot nicer once you've had a few of these," she assured him, holding up a half-empty glass.

He leaned in and sniffed it. The alcohol fumes almost made his eyes water. "Christ! I'd say most things look pretty good once you've had three of those. What's in there? Ethanol?"

Nikki laughed. "Probably. I don't really know. James gave it to me."

Harry nodded, trying to hide his scowl behind a knowing smile. "Did he really?"

"Yes," Nikki confirmed, completely oblivious. "At first it was pretty foul, but I'm developing a taste for it. Do you want a sip?"

"I think I'll pass," he told her, shaking his head and holding up his beer.

"You are such a bore," she complained.

"Unlike James?" he asked, one eyebrow raised.

"Well, yes," she agreed, looking around the room, probably for James. "At least _he_ knows how to have fun."

Harry snorted. "I'm sure he does."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Nikki asked, her brow furrowed.

"Nothing," he insisted. "I was agreeing with you."

"I'm sure you were," she told him sarcastically, mimicking his tone.

"So where have you been?" he asked.

Nikki took another sip of her eggnog. Harry was sure he could actually see her getting drunker as she swallowed it. "Oh, James was just showing me some bones they're working on. There was some really fascinating damage to the right femur," she told him.

Harry grinned. "Is _that_ what the kids are calling it these days?" Clearly James was smarter than Harry had thought, luring her in with interesting bones.

She rolled her eyes at him and whacked him lightly on the arm. "Come off it, Harry. It was really interesting. These tiny fractures, I just can't imagine--" she broke off when she saw the look on his face. "What?"

Harry laughed. "Nothing. It's very sweet, him showing you his favourite toys and everything."

"He did _not_ show me his favourite toy," Nikki said, smirking.

Harry coughed and then laughed, secretly relieved. "So you spent half an hour looking at a fractured femur? And you call _me_ a bore?"

"Well, everyone calls you a bore, Harry," Nikki informed him brightly.

"They do not," he said, shaking his head at her.

She grinned. "No, they actually do. Jeannie was telling me how she had tried to flirt with you _several times_ and you just hadn't even noticed."

Harry wondered who Jeannie was. He wished he could tell Nikki that so many women flirted with him that he couldn't remember which one was Jeannie, but the truth was Jeannie was right. He _hadn't_ noticed. Because if he had, he probably would've remembered her.

"She asked me if you were gay," Nikki went on, swirling the eggnog around in her glass and watching it almost spill over.

Harry frowned. "And what did you tell her?"

She looked up, her eyes twinkling. "I told her I had no idea."

Harry opened his mouth to retort but shut it when James Lafferty walked up to them.

James put his arm on Nikki's back and leaned in close, clearly determined to ignore Harry. "I need your help picking out some music. Otherwise Jeannie will make us all listen to _Last Christmas_ on repeat for an hour."

"I like _Last Christmas_," Nikki told him.

For a moment it looked at if that statement might spell the the end of James's infatuation, but he recovered quickly and smiled indulgently. "For an _hour_, though? Don't you think that's a bit much?"

"Not at all," Nikki said with what must sound like sincerity to James, who gaped at her, until she giggled and shook her head at him.

He breathed a sigh of relief. "So you'll help me?"

"Of course," Nikki agreed easily before looking teasingly at Harry and adding: "But maybe you'd rather have Harry to help you."

James looked panicked and Harry wondered if Jeannie, whoever she was, had been discussing her theories about his sexuality with James.

Nikki seemed to be thinking the same thing. "I just meant, he might have an easier time persuading Jeannie to play something else. But you should be warned, anything Harry chooses is likely to be _worse_ than _Last Christmas_."

"There _is_ nothing worse than _Last Christmas_," James said flatly.

Nikki sighed, looking at Harry. "I can't understand why everyone hates that song so much."

James grinned. "We have ears."

Nikki laughed, shaking her head at him. "Let's go. I'll find something worse for you."

She pushed her nearly empty glass into Harry's hands and walked off with James.

Harry sighed and leaned back against the wall, watching James and Nikki talking and laughing as they made their way over to the stereo that had been set up on a table next to a cabinet filled with specimen jars.

There was a woman already by the stereo, riffling through the CDs next to it. Nikki turned to look at Harry, pointing at the woman and mouthing "Jeannie."

Harry shrugged and shook his head, still not remembering ever having talked to her, and Nikki grinned and rolled her eyes at him before turning around to talk to James, who was holding up a jewel case for her inspection. She took it from him and read the track list, wrinkles appearing on her nose.

James said something to her, clearly trying to convince her to put on the CD, but she threw it mercilessly on the table, picking up another CD.

Harry raised his arm to take a swig of beer and coughed when the strongest eggnog he had ever tasted burned its way down his throat instead. He looked down at Nikki's glass with smudged pink lipstick around the rim. He wiped his own lips, worried that some of it might've rubbed off on him.

"You look like a man in need of a refill," someone slurred at him and he looked up to see a middle-aged man wearing a red coat, a Santa hat and an enormous buzz, holding up a pitcher of eggnog. Harry shrugged and held out the glass for the other man to fill.

"Thanks," Harry said, with just a hint of sarcasm, as the eggnog spilled over and poured down his hand.

"You are _very_ welcome," the other man said emphatically. "Happy Christmas."

"Happy Christmas," Harry returned and the man walked off, looking for more empty glasses to fill.

The music stopped just as George Michael was about to assure everyone that next year he would find someone worthy of his love, and Nikki and James were wrestling playfully as he tried to prevent her from putting on a CD.

Nikki won and after she had pressed a few buttons a familiar beat that Harry couldn't place poured out of the speakers. It wasn't until Gladys Knight began singing that he recognised the song. _When You Love Somebody It's Christmas Everyday_.

James was shaking his head stubbornly and Harry grinned as Nikki threw out her arms insistently, probably ranting about what a terrible idea Christmas every single day would be. It would put anyone off falling in love.

He sensed someone watching him and looked away from Nikki to find Jeannie staring at him. She looked nice enough and he felt a bit guilty about not remembering her, so he held up his eggnog in greeting. She held up her glass as well, smiling, before they both drank. When he coughed, still not adjusted to the amount of alcohol in the eggnog, she laughed and pointed a finger at the drunk in the Santa costume to indicate that _he_ was responsible.

Harry grinned and nodded in understanding. He wondered if he should walk over to them and talk to Jeannie, but she turned away to look through the CDs.

James was picking a song now and trying to get Nikki interested in what he was doing, but she was preoccupied reading the labels on the specimen jars in the cabinet.

Harry sighed when Slade began wishing everybody a merry Christmas and insisting that they were all having fun through the speakers. He pushed away from the wall to leave the room.

When he got back to their own office it was dark and everything was quiet. Clearly Leo had gone home for the night, and the noise from the party didn't travel this far.

Harry didn't bother turning on the lights but made his way through the darkness to Leo's office. He sat down on the couch and took a drink of eggnog.

He had about a minute of peace before the lights went on and he heard the clicking of heels in the outer office space. He wondered if he would be able to hide from whoever was out there until the sound of Nikki's voice calling his name made him stand up.

"There you are," she said, looking at him from the doorway.

"Yeah, I just needed to get away from the awful music for a while," he explained.

"You got out just in time," Nikki informed him. "When I left they were playing Mariah Carey."

"All I want for Christmas is you?" Harry asked.

"Is it really?" Nikki teased. "That's too bad, because I got you a tie."

Harry snorted and shook his head. "You shouldn't be allowed to make jokes when you're drunk."

"Whereas you should never be allowed to make them at all," she retorted easily.

"Is James allowed to make jokes?" he asked, trying to sound indifferent.

Nikki smiled in a way that made him think he had probably failed. "He just doesn't take the hint."

Harry frowned. "What hint?" Was he going to have to listen to Nikki complain about why James hadn't snogged her yet? Because then he would really rather have to listen to _Last Christmas_ on repeat for an hour.

"To bugger off," Nikki told him.

"You're not interested in him?" Harry wasn't sure whether to be relieved or confused.

"Of course I'm not," she said, exasperated. "And anyway, Jeannie's completely in love with him, so I'd feel bad. I think she already picked out baby names and everything."

Confusion won. "Didn't you just tell me before that Jeannie was flirting with _me_?"

Nikki rolled her eyes at him. "That was to make James jealous. He hates you."

"He doesn't even know me," Harry argued.

She shrugged indifferently. "I suppose he thinks I'm in love with you or something."

Harry gaped at her.

"But it didn't work anyway, did it? Because you didn't notice." She grinned. "You are pretty hopeless, Harry."

"Or maybe I'm just gay," he replied.

Nikki laughed. "Of course you're not," she told him, as if he might've been wondering.

"I thought you said you didn't know."

"That was just for Jeannie's benefit. So she wouldn't feel bad." She looked up at him. "And I _do_ know."

"How?" he asked.

She smiled and pointed at the ceiling. He looked up and realised that he was standing right under a mistletoe that definitely hadn't been there that morning. "Um, I didn't..." he mumbled.

She shook her head. "Janet put it up when she came to fetch Leo."

"Oh," Harry replied cleverly.

"Apparently she felt we hadn't decorated properly," Nikki went on, looking at the mistletoe. "I think Leo might've preferred that she just hang a few baubles in the window."

"James probably could have loaned her some," Harry said, looking up at the mistletoe as well, a frown on his face.

Nikki smiled. "But then she might've given him the mistletoe, though. And I don't think I would've liked that."

"You mean he didn't have any?" Harry asked, incredulous. "I thought the whole point of the party was getting you under the mistletoe."

"Isn't that sweet? Him going to all that trouble just to get me to kiss him," Nikki mused.

"Tragic, mostly," Harry said.

She laughed, shaking her head at him. "Are you ready?" she asked, glancing up at the mistletoe again. Her voice was suddenly hushed and she was slowly stretching closer to him. "It _is_ tradition."

"I suppose you can't argue with tradition," Harry acknowledged, tilting his head down.

Nikki smiled, licking her lips. "Exactly."

They were less than an inch apart.

"And James put all that hard work in," Harry whispered. "Getting you drunk and everything."

"Harry," Nikki said, her voice firm. "Shut up about James."

"You mean you don't want to talk about James?" Harry asked, grinning and moving closer as he spoke. "He seemed like a nice guy to me."

"Shut up," Nikki insisted.

"I'm sure you'd have very beautiful babies."

"Shut up," she repeated, grinning, her lips so close to his that he sensed their movement even if they weren't actually touching.

"Can I please come to the wedding?"

She laughed, the sound ringing through the room for only a second before being muffled as she pressed her lips firmly against his.

He kissed her back eagerly, his hands moving to her back and pulling her closer. She moaned softly as their bodies met and wrapped her arms around his neck, her lips parting, inviting him to deepen the kiss.

When she finally pulled back they were both panting, and he rested his forehead heavily against hers, hoping she wasn't feeling quite as dizzy as he was right now.

"_Now_ he shuts up," Nikki teased and he laughed.

"I don't think James would be--" he began, and she giggled before kissing him again to stop him completing the sentence.

_End_


End file.
